Apple in the Windy City

Recently, after many years of just passing through the Chicago airport, I actually stayed in the Windy City. It was a delightful experience, as I got the opportunity to enjoy Chicago hot dogs, its famous pizza and many other of its special culinary delights.

On the Apple Computer front, advertising was visible on several downtown outdoor displays. I also visited the CompUSA store right off of Michigan Avenue.

Apple had a good presence in the store: iMacs were stacked high as customers walked through the front entrance. Additionally, there was a well-stocked "Store within a Store" that featured every Mac configuration currently available. What's more, there were a lot of people visiting the area, most of which were a younger 20s or so set. All in all the store had lots for the Mac enthusiast.

The next day I visited the world famous Sears Tower, which is one of the tallest buildings in the world. On the day I was there, they were getting ready to dedicate a new observatory on the 103 floor. It was a sight to behold. In addition to the beautiful view, there were displays detailing Chicago history. It was also designed as a high-tech exhibit, as computers were located at each observatory deck. The computers were designed to provide visitors with information on landmarks visible from the tower.

I say "designed" because several of the devices, which were Gateway all-in-one computers running what appeared to be Windows 98, were locked up due to some type of error message.

I chuckled when I saw this, wondering how many thousands of dollars had been spend on the new exhibit, only to have it marred by defective technology. I will give those responsible for the exhibit some slack, as it is still being finished.

I guess the same could be said for Windows 98.

CompuUSA Apple Offerings Unimpressive

On recent trips to St. Louis and Kansas, I made a point to visit Apple Computer's newest (and exclusive) retail sales emphasis - CompUSA.

Most of us who have been around since the start of the personal computer revolution are familiar with CompUSA. CompUSA was one of first computer chains to establish a nationwide presence.

During Apple Computer's wailing to stay alive over the past year or so, it decided to pull back from an "all things to all people" approach to its retail channel and focus its efforts on one single computer chain.

CompUSA is very successful, to say the least. Apple's "pull back" strategy is already paying off for the company. Sales of Apple products at CompUSA have increased steadily, up at last count around 15 to 20 percent.

After reading the Internet grapevine about the happenings involving CompUSA, I was interested to see how things are going for myself.

My first stop was St. Louis, where in recent years I have been attracted to Computer City which is located more along my business route. The CompUSA store in St. Louis isn't one of their newest. However, the store seemed to be well maintained on the PC side. The "Apple Store Within a Store" was another matter. Located in a far corner of the store next to the children's section, the Apple area seemed cluttered and not maintained all that well. It did contain new G3 machines in boxes and a G3 PowerBook on display.

There was an aisle of Mac-only software with a large rolling ladder parked at one end. I did not see an Apple/Macintosh specialist in the 30 minutes I was in the store, but that's not to say there wasn't one. At one point I stopped a store employee who was walking along the edge of the display to ask if the store carried the NewTech G3 upgrades for older Power Macs. He replied, "Oh, yeah. Well, we won't be getting those for a couple of months. Check back then."

Overall, my experience at CompUSA in St. Louis was less than impressive.

A few weeks later I happened by the CompUSA store in Overland Park, Kansas. This store was newer and better maintained. Again, I visited the Apple section to look over the wares. Once again, I was less than impressed. The store did have an eMate on display, which is the first I have seen other than in a magazine (Way cool! Too bad it has been discontinued).

If you have been reading comments on the web about Apple's presence at CompUSA, most seem to have their problems. In fact, some say there is a conspiracy concerning the location of the store's rolling ladder in Apple's store (similar to what I experienced in St. Louis).

The result of my unscientific survey of the two stores closest to appleJAC members reveals a less than impressive showing. That's not to say the stores won't improve. Let's hope.

As I travel, I plan to visit other CompUSA stores. If you visit a store in another part of the country, please send your thoughts to tyarbrough@sockets.net and I'll share them in this column.